Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Workers in the Aging City

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About the project

Our population is aging. Who is going to do the work of looking after people as they age?

The purpose of this research project is to investigate the development and conditions of work in the eldercare sectors in Vancouver, Canada and Shanghai, China – two “global cities”, with important commercial and cultural linkages, that are both experiencing demographic transitions from aging populations. 

Eldercare jobs include in-home caregivers and home support workers, residential assistants and care aides, community health workers, and care assistants. Workers may be hired directly, work for temp agencies, or be contracted out. Some are permanent, some are temporary or casual, and may work full or part time. We are not looking, in this study, at workers in nursing roles.

The questions we are asking in this project include:

  • How are demographic changes, and evolving eldercare and social care policies, impacting the labour market for paid eldercare workers in Vancouver and Shanghai?

  • What are the experiences and working conditions of paid eldercare workers in global cities, based on where they work, who employs them, and their legal status and social location (ethnicity, gender, age)?

  • How does policy impact whether paid eldercare workers in global cities experience precarious employment and other forms of precarity (for example, in access to affordable housing and transportation)?

TAKE OUR SURVEY!

Are you a worker or workers’ advocate? Tell us about your experiences to help us raise awareness of challenges in the sector. Take our survey on working in eldercare!